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Our Old Grey Cannot Always Lift His Butt Off The Ground, Straining His


Guest GreyDogsRule

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Guest GreyDogsRule

In the last couple weeks, one of our greyhounds, Seamus McCloskey Lamb, age 11, had an episode in the kitchen on the wood floors (that are very covered with rugs, but a few bare areas) where it appeared he slipped but could not get his feet back under his butt to push up to a standing position. My husband had to quickly lift him up before he did the splits. This has now happened a couple times, and we thought it was that he was going off the rugs and slipping on the floors. Tonight I let in my Chihuahua and saw what I thought was Seamus getting up from sitting like a sphinx but then I realized he couldn't get up, just like in the house only now he was on the grass! My husband went running out and lifted his back side up and massaged those big muscles.

 

Any ideas about what is going on with our old boy?

 

Thanks,

 

Tina

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Ask your vet.

 

Poodle had this and was diagnosed with http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spondylosis. It might also be lumbarsacral stenosis but the splaying reminds me more of Poodle and my Bella who started splaying out just before 11. The vets said the spine just starts to go and the brain can't talk to the hind end. :(:grouphug

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Ask your vet.

 

Poodle had this and was diagnosed with http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spondylosis. It might also be lumbarsacral stenosis but the splaying reminds me more of Poodle and my Bella who started splaying out just before 11. The vets said the spine just starts to go and the brain can't talk to the hind end. :(:grouphug

 

That's what my vet says about Magic. With him, it started when he was 12.


Carol, missing Magic (1/5/01 - 4/15/15) but welcoming Fuzzy's Joy Behar (Joy) into my life on 5/31/15.

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With Jeffie, it's apparently most likely degenerative myelopathy. He doesn't have spondylosis and he doesn't have lumbo-sacral stenosis or disc compression. You need a vet to diagnose what is wrong in your guy's case. Another possibility is that your Seamus did slip, badly, one time when you didn't see him and he's torn a muscle and/or ligament.

 

Treatment options vary according to the cause, but you can make sure there are no slippy or difficult areas for him around the house and garden, and give him several shorter walks in the day rather than one or two longer ones. The oldies often do better that way. They also need to avoid leaping up or down or too many steps, and they appreciate the right bed - this can vary too; Mine are both old, but Sid favours a well-padded, spongy flat bed rather than a really soft cushy one, while Jeff prefers really soft squidgy donut beds. Jeff is doing OK but we have to be watchful for odd things, like not putting his bed too near the wall. The other day he got stuck because his hind end had slipped off the bed and he was too close to the wall to get his toes out from under the edge. He just cried, pitifully, till someone (both of us) leapt up to help him. He's fine, but he scares himself.

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The plural of anecdote is not data

Brambleberry Greyhounds My Etsy Shop

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Guest GreyDogsRule

Thanks for your kind wishes and information. These sure are wonderful dogs, aren't they? Too bad their last year is usually so bad for them. We have three with us now, and three others are over the bridge--two at 8 years old and the other at 11 (he came to us when he was 10).

 

I agree about the dogs' bed preferences. Seamus has a queen bed with a firm mattress that he loves to sleep on at night, but during the day he rotates between the leather couch and 1 of four different doggie beds. Sky Boy prefers the king bed at night and the same as Seamus during the day. Sasha has a couple comfy bolster beds she uses at night and one of those really comfy dense foam pads during the day, and occasionally one of the other three doggie beds. Our first grey, Max, who died in 2005, would lay on anything--even a dish cloth that had had pulled onto the floor and into the family room.

 

Thank you again,

 

Tina

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This started happening to Larry a few years ago and it was attributed to some issues that he had at the time ... fractured toe, strained leg and a few other things. I was advised to start adding joint supplements to his food and this past year switched to this product which seems to work wonders or, at least it appears to. Earlier, he was using a pill product by the same company which worked well for a year or two but, this powder is stronger.

 

http://www.springtimeinc.com/product/longevity/All-Natural-Dog-Supplements

 

Note, I buy mine from Amazon.

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Yes, joint supplements are a good idea. We use Cosequin DS sprinkle caps.

 

Seamus' teeth sound great!! But if it's an option, it might be worth getting the vet to x-ray them if he ever goes in for anything else. There is no reason an old greyhound shouldn't be able to eat hard things right up to the day s/he leaves this earth unless there's either a problem with the teeth or the jaw. There may be some arthritis in the jaw, or muscle/nerve problems, but most of the time it's teeth or gums that cause the 'soft foods only' syndrome.

GTAvatar-2015_zpsb0oqcimj.jpg

The plural of anecdote is not data

Brambleberry Greyhounds My Etsy Shop

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